Joust for Sixty Five

Sunday's BC-Duke tussle and last night's Pitt-UConn confrontation served as tasty appetizers, salient reminders that in less than a month, wallets will be pried open and eyes will be stapled to television sets, as the majority of America's male population inhales a glorious weekend of nonstop college basketball insanity. Most will skip class, some will call in sick, and many will follow live feeds at work. Buckets of money will be won and lost, but the dinero isn't the main reason that March Madness is king.

So what makes the first weekend of the tournament so captivating? How about Hampton, a MEAC school, as a 15 seed in 2001, besting Iowa State, a 2 seed? Maybe the likelihood of at least one 5 seed falling on the first day? Since 1985, only 67% of 5 seeds have survived the first round, and statistically speaking, one of every five 4 seeds will buckle to their 13 seeded counterparts. Many diehard alumni feel that their schools have a shot to pull that upset against traditional powerhouses like UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky, Georgetown, and Duke, especially against Duke nowadays.

That said, who are prime candidates to get the boot early? Starting with the ACC, Duke and Wake Forest have a pretty decent chance of landing top 3 seeds in their region, yet either team could be sent packing by a Mountain Valley or America East school. In the Big Ten, Illinois and Ohio State should land somewhere in the 4 to 6 range, but they might be home in time to watch the second round on television. It's common knowledge that the Big East is loaded, but at least a couple are ripe for upsets opening weekend. Villanova and Louisville could make the Final Four or could be making sandwiches after a first round collapse. LSU, the current SEC leader, already has 21 wins, but might end up mixing the Bourbon much too quickly for their liking after a tumble against a juiced up (and arguably more talented) Arizona or Providence squad. How about the Big Twelve? Now that the Kansas Jayhawks are in a little bit of a groove, could they streak their way to the Final Four? It's possible. Since 2001, they have never received less than a 4 seed. They won the whole shebang last year and have as much talent as anyone. Then again, they might run into another Bucknell or Bradley. Nobody knows, and that's the point.

So who might shock their way to the final weekend? Perhaps Davidson? Before they made a run to the Elite Eight most had never heard of them, and "experts" are afraid to predict a repeat. In short, they might have peaked last season. It's likely that the Final Four will have at least one member of the Big East and one ACC representative. The consensus best player in college basketball dons a Sooners uni, and as a result, Oklahoma has been punishing opponents all year. Memphis is another top candidate, but it seems like there's always one team nobody picks. This year, roll the dice and pick a name out of a hat. Be confident if your bracket tells you that Michigan will be dancing well into late March or beyond. Be bold. Go with a dangerous darkhorse like Florida State or a "disrespected" team like Utah St. Aggies from the WAC. Just prepare for a grind-it-out dance.